If It Makes You Happy
by Hidge
Summary: Set after 8x16 - "If Only You Were Lonely". A patient's attraction to April spurs on unexpected feelings in Jackson. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! I am not new to fanfiction but I am new to the Grey's fanfiction world. I just couldn't resist writing an April/Jackson fic. I just love them too much. So enjoy and keep in mind that this has not been edited by anyone besides myself. Also, everything medical is from the internet!**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Shonda and ABC!**

**Chapter 1 – You've Got A Friend**

It was quiet. Too quiet.

April Kepner was working the night shift in the emergency room and it was so quiet. It was almost three o'clock in the morning and the pit was silent enough for her to concentrate on studying for her Boards. But she knew all too well that the pit being this silent was never a good omen.

As if on cue, Owen Hunt rushed up to her. "Incoming trauma! Car accident, four cars involved. The first ambulance is five minutes out. Page Shepherd, Sloan, and Torres!"

She did as she was told, grabbed a trauma gown, and then rushed to meet the group of nurses and doctors waiting outside the ER entrance.

The first ambulance pulled up and Dr. Hunt stepped towards it. The doors opened and a paramedic hopped out. "Anderson Matthews, 33. BP is 80 over 50. Slipping in and out of consciousness. Several lacerations and burns on the chest and abdomen. He went into cardiac arrest on the way here." The paramedic sighed as he passed the patient's chart to Owen. "He tried to save a woman trapped in her car."

Owen sighed as well as he passed the chart to April. "Kepner, take him to Trauma 1 and continue CPR. I'll be there in a second."

April wheeled the patient inside along with two nurses. "My name is Dr. Kepner. Just stay with me, you're going to be okay." She looked down into his eyes and saw that he was mildly alert.

They arrived at Trauma 1 and the nurses hooked up all the appropriate machines. "His vitals are rising," one nurse stated.

April smiled and checked his pupils for signs of a head injury. "No sign of a concussion."

Mark Sloan waltzed into the room with Jackson Avery behind him. "What do we have?"

"Chest and abdominal lacerations," April answered quickly.

Sloan inspected the lacerations and turned to Avery, "Mostly superficial. There should be minimal scarring."

Avery sidled up to April and grinned. "What are you doing in the ER tonight? Isn't it Yang's shift?"

"I'm doing her a favour," she replied distractedly. She was focused on the heart monitor and the fact that her patient's readings didn't make any sense. "His vitals are all over the place," she muttered. His blood pressure was beginning to drop quickly so she resumed CPR and spoke hurriedly to her fellow resident. "Jackson, page Dr. Altman."

"What? Why?" He asked in confusion.

"Because I think he has an arrhythmia and he's about to go into cardiac arrest again."

Surely enough, the heart monitor began to beep incessantly and April called for a crash cart while Avery paged their Head of Cardio. Her patient was crashing and all of a sudden the ER was way too loud.

* * *

After all of the incoming trauma from the car accident had been dealt with, Owen Hunt walked into the OR gallery to find April watching Teddy Altman and Cristina Yang operate on the patient that she had almost lost earlier. He sat down next to her and she acknowledged him with a weak smile.

"You saved his life tonight, Kepner. You were right. He has an arrhythmia which is why he slipped into cardiac arrest so easily. Good work."

"Thank you sir."

She had shown great thinking and intuition tonight. She had been right, Mr. Matthews had accessory pathway tachycardia, a condition that had gone diagnosed and one that hadn't bothered him his whole life. Teddy and Cristina were now inside his chest implanting an ICD which would monitor his heart rate and hopefully prevent cardiac arrest from occurring in the future.

He chuckled lightly, "You know, I hadn't pegged you as being able to handle trauma but it suits you. You're determined, you think quick on your feet, and you care. You would make a great trauma surgeon, Dr. Kepner."

"Thank you, Chief Hunt."

"You're welcome," he answered before they sat in companionable silence for the rest of the surgery.

She smiled at her Chief of Surgery but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She should feel on top of the world right now…she pulled a patient back from the brink of death…but she didn't. The patient, Anderson Matthews, had looked at her the entire time that he had been conscious. His eyes had never left hers and it made her feel responsible for him. She would feel better when he was out of the OR and in recovery.

* * *

Once April checked on Mr. Matthews post-op and saw that his vitals were good and stable, she headed to her office hoping to get some rest. She opened the door to find Jackson sleeping on her couch in the dim light of early morning.

The fifth year residents were regular fixtures in her office but Jackson was the only one that she allowed to sleep there. Ever since his breakup with Lexie he had been obviously lonely and depending on her company more and more. They studied together. They took walks together. They even occasionally slept together…nothing sexual…just sleeping. Jackson was a very restless sleeper, plagued by nightmares, and sleeping beside someone helped him apparently. However, ever since Mark Sloan's suggestion that they become the _other_ kind of buddies, the idea of sleeping beside him wasn't as comforting as it used to be, despite the fact that she knew that they were strictly friends. He didn't see her as anything more than a close friend so she needn't worry about him making her uncomfortable. Still, her friendship with Jackson was a little more intimate than she was used to and she had never been close friends with a guy before him.

She tried to close the door quietly so that she did not wake him but she was unsuccessful.

"Hey," he mumbled groggily as he stretched.

"Sorry," she apologized as she walked towards her desk.

"You were a rock star tonight," he smiled.

She rolled her eyes. "You were the one in the OR all night, not me."

"C'mon," he chuckled. "I saw you. You saved his life. I had no idea what was happening, if that had been me he would have died."

She didn't answer him so he simply turned on his side and gestured towards the sofa's free space.

"I'm not tired," she replied stubbornly.

"April," he groaned. "I know that you came here to get some sleep so just get over here."

She was truly too exhausted to argue with him. She removed her white coat and joined him on the couch. She lay down so that her back was to his chest and she tucked her head underneath his chin. He draped his arm across her waist so that she couldn't fall to the floor.

"April, you're shivering," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she responded unconvincingly. He retaliated by squeezing her side and she squeaked. That wasn't fair; he knew that she was ticklish. "I'm just worried about the patient I worked on," she began. "He seems like a nice guy. He tried to save a woman trapped in her car and he almost died."

"But he didn't," Jackson soothed, "because of you. You saved a nice guy, so relax." He ran a hand down her back in what was meant to be a comforting gesture but she tensed up immediately. He thought that she had become used to his casual touches of affection. She even let him give her a shoulder massage every once in a while. "Okay, what's going on? Why are you acting so weird around me?" He asked in confusion.

"Did Dr. Sloan ever tell you about the conversation we had a few days ago?" She asked awkwardly.

"No. What did he say? Did he hit on you?"

"No," she scoffed. "He suggested that since you and I spend so much time together that we should maybe become more…_friendly_ so that we're not so stressed out."

"He actually said that?" Jackson asked incredulously.

"Uh huh."

He sighed; he was going to kill Sloan! "Well, just because he said that doesn't mean things are going to change between us. I may be a guy but I'm not completely dominated by my hormones. You're my best friend and if this new sleeping arrangement makes you uncomfortable then we can stop."

"No, it's fine," she whispered so quietly that he could barely hear her. The truth was that sleeping beside Jackson was nice. She felt safe and it was nice to feel cared for by a man, regardless of the fact that they were just friends.

"Okay good." He smiled to himself before he closed his eyes.

* * *

Mark Sloan was tired of looking for his other half. He had searched the residents' lounge, the on-call rooms, and the cafeteria, and still no Avery. He had thought about paging him but discovering where his protégée was hiding had appealed to his nosiness. Hopefully, he was busy with a pretty nurse or intern. He was about to admit defeat when he realized that Avery could have taken over Kepner's office like the other fifth years were known to do.

He opened the door to her office without knocking and smirked at what he found. Avery was sleeping on the couch wrapped around his red-headed study buddy.

"Well, what do we have here?"

The two residents awoke immediately. Kepner looked like a deer caught in headlights and Avery cursed under his breath as he slowly started to sit up. An embarrassed, flushed Kepner jumped off of the couch and raced across the room to grab her coat. She quickly left her own office rambling about how she needed to talk to Bailey about something.

Sloan watched her leave and then turned back to Avery with a mischievous grin.

"Ever hear of knocking?" The resident asked in annoyance. "Or you could have just paged me?"

Sloan shrugged. "Where's the fun in that? So, you and Kepner are _buddies_ now?"

"No! And I can't believe what you said to her. We're just friends and stay out of my love life," he told his mentor seriously.

"Just friends?" Sloan laughed. "A guy who's just friends with a woman doesn't sneak away from his attending to cuddle."

Avery angrily grabbed his coat from its place on the back of the couch and roughly pulled it on. "We were sleeping, not cuddling, and it's personal and completely platonic."

Sloan was still not convinced. "She's an attractive woman and you've known her for years. You can't tell me that you've never even thought about it before."

"I haven't," he stated adamantly. But now that the idea was in his head, it was all he could think about. "Let's go on rounds," he grumbled.

* * *

When Anderson Matthews awoke, he blinked several times to gain his bearings. He was lying in a hospital bed and his entire body ached. He remembered every detail of his car accident and he had flashes of memory from being in the ambulance that brought him to the hospital. He had expected the pain but he hadn't expected so many doctors. There were five doctors surrounding his bed.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Hunt. How are you feeling, Mr. Matthews?" The red-headed man closest to his bedside asked.

He smiled wryly back at him. "Like I was hit by a car." He felt bandages all over his upper body so he asked the obvious question. "Did I have surgery last night?"

A tall, handsome man standing at the end of his bed spoke up to answer his question. "I'm Dr. Sloan, I'm a plastic surgeon, and me and Dr. Avery here," he gestured to the dark-skinned man on his right, "treated several chest and abdominal lacerations and burns and there should be very minimal scarring."

"Dr. Altman?" The red-headed man prompted.

"Mr. Matthews, you have a heart condition known as accessory pathway tachycardia. It's an arrhythmia," the blonde told him.

"I know that my heartbeat is abnormally fast but it's never seriously bothered me. I played basketball in college and it was never a problem," he told them honestly.

"Well last night it caused you to go into cardiac arrest several times. Dr. Yang and I inserted an implantable cardioverter- defibrillator. It will stabilize your arrhythmia and prevent sudden arrests in the future."

"I'm going to do a check-up and then Dr. Altman and Dr. Yang will return to explain the ICD," Dr. Hunt explained.

"Sounds good," Anderson muttered. He needed time to process the new information anyway. He had a small battery-powered device inside of his chest now; he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about that.

All of the doctors left his room except for Dr. Hunt, who began to routinely poke and prod him.

"The woman in the car…what happened to her?" He asked fearfully.

Dr. Hunt smiled. "She's fine, she's in recovery."

"Good," he sighed with a smile as he let his head relax on his pillow. "It was worth it then."

Dr. Hunt chuckled quietly. "She told me that she wants to meet you later…to say thank you."

Anderson was about to respond when a gorgeous, red-head walked into his room.

"Good morning," she greeted energetically.

"Good morning, Dr. Kepner," Hunt replied. "Dr. Kepner treated you in the ER last night," he told Anderson.

Anderson smiled. "I remember." He had had dreams of red hair and hazel eyes all night. The female doctor that had saved his life had been the only thing that his mind was able to concentrate on while slipping in and out of consciousness. "I remember thinking that you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Dr. Kepner blushed and exchanged an awkward glance with Hunt.

The older surgeon smiled. "Well, I have a staff meeting. Can you finish Mr. Matthews' check-up, Dr. Kepner?"

"Sure, Chief Hunt."

Dr. Kepner grabbed his chart after Hunt left the room and Anderson observed her flushed cheeks. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," he apologized.

"It's fine," she replied quickly. "Now, how are you feeling?"

"As good as can be expected…thanks to you." He knew that he was laying on the charm pretty thick but he couldn't help it. If he was going to be stuck in this hospital bed for a couple of days then he was going to flirt with his attractive doctor.

"Just doing my job," she smiled.

He grinned back at her. She had dimples and he was such a sucker for dimples. Anderson had a feeling that Dr. Kepner didn't realize the effect she could have on the opposite sex.

**A/N: Please leave me your thoughts! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm thrilled by the response to this story. Thanks everyone! Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any Grey's characters.**

**Chapter 2 – Hello Beautiful**

Anderson lazily flipped through the television channels on day two of his stay in Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. He had not stayed this long in a hospital since he was a young child and he was an incredibly active individual. He biked, he played basketball, and he volunteered. He wrote for a living and was without any of his materials. So, he was incredibly bored and restless lying in a hospital bed with just a television. To dampen his mood even further, he hadn't seen Dr. Kepner since his check-up yesterday morning. She may be avoiding him since he had seen every other doctor on his case. Dr. Altman and Dr. Yang had talked to him about his heart and his new ICD and Dr. Sloan and Dr. Avery had checked on his stitches. Even Dr. Hunt had stopped by.

A brief knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and Dr. Avery stepped inside his room.

"Good morning, Mr. Matthews."

"Please call me Andy or Anderson. Are you here to change my bandages?"

Avery nodded, "Yup. How are you feeling? Tender?"

"A little bit but I feel pretty good," he answered.

Avery moved to stand at his bedside and began to meticulously clean and redress the bandages on his chest and abdomen. "And how is the ICD?"

"Great. I feel a little bit like a robot but it's good," he laughed.

Avery laughed along with him as he continued his work.

"Can I ask you a question?" Anderson began tentatively.

"Sure," Avery replied distractedly.

"Do you know Dr. Kepner?"

"I do," he nodded. "She's a good friend of mine."

"Is she avoiding me?"

Avery chuckled. "She's busy in the ER today. Why would she be avoiding you?"

"Because I told her that she's the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen," he explained. "And she blushed adorably. I'd blame the drugs but it's the truth," he laughed.

Avery's hands stilled on his abdomen for a moment before he mustered a stunned reply. "Oh."

"Do you know if she's seeing anyone?" He asked curiously.

The surgeon cleared his throat awkwardly. "No, I don't think so. She's busy with work and everything."

Anderson smiled and seemingly satisfied, he changed the topic of conversation to the Seattle Mariners game that was on television. Avery kept up but he was distracted and he focused on completing his task as efficiently and quickly as possible.

* * *

After another long shift at the hospital, Jackson returned to the new apartment that he shared with April and Alex Karev.

He dropped his keys on the table by the door and turned towards the living room where Karev was sitting on the couch drinking a beer. His feet were propped up on the coffee table and he was watching sports highlights.

"There's beer in the fridge if you want one," Karev offered.

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm too tired. Where's April?"

"In bed I think," Karev answered briskly.

"I'm going to go to bed too, man. See ya in the morning."

"'Night," Karev called out as Jackson disappeared down the hallway.

He made a pit stop in his bedroom to change his clothes before he tiptoed to April's bedroom and silently opened the door and closed it behind him. She was asleep on her side so he slid into her bed behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She tossed and turned in her sleep and he told himself that holding her was the best way to prevent it.

"Jackson," she murmured sleepily. "We should stop doing this…Sloan…"

"I set Sloan straight, don't worry, and besides, I had a rough day. You're not going to kick me out of your bed," he stated confidently.

She sighed, "Only because you're so warm." She grabbed his arm and pulled his body even closer to hers.

He smiled into her hair. He loved her like this, when she was half-awake and her defenses were down. He entwined his feet with hers and laughed. "Jesus April, you're freezing."

"Then warm me up," she retorted quickly.

He chuckled under his breath. Half-awake April was also bolder and a little flirty.

She rolled over to face him and blinked her sleepy, doe eyes at him. "You had a tough day?" She asked in concern.

He told her all about his day and the burn victim that he and Sloan had worked on. He neglected to mention his conversation with Anderson Matthews and the man's interest in her. He was already re-evaluating so many aspects of their friendship that he didn't want to analyze why he kept that bit of information from her.

* * *

Jackson woke up in bed alone when April's alarm clock went off and he lazily rolled over to silence it. April always set an alarm for him because she was a natural early riser. He assumed that it was ingrained in her from growing up on a farm. It was just another part of the Kepner work ethic. She liked to make coffee for the three of them and then be the first person in the shower. Jackson, however, was not as energetic in the morning. He slowly got up out of bed and rubbed his eyes as he walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

Karev was already sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a piece of toast when he entered. "Morning."

"Hey," he responded as he took a seat at the table with his coffee. He reached for the morning paper when Karev asked him a blunt question.

"Are you screwing Kepner?"

Jackson was incredibly caught off guard and he dropped the paper on the table. "What?"

"You left your bag in the living room last night so I brought it to your room. You weren't there but you never left the house. So, you were in Kepner's room," Karev reasoned.

Jackson met Karev's hard stare and calmly admitted, "I was."

"So, you're screwing?" He asked nonchalantly.

Jackson shook his head but Karev raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "We're not and even if we are it's none of your business."

"So what are you doing then?" Karev asked in confusion because he had no idea why else Avery would spend so much time alone with their roommate.

Jackson finished his coffee, got up from the table, and left the kitchen without answering the question. His friendship with April was very important to him. They had been through things together that no one else would understand. He didn't even fully understand the connection that they had or the pull that he sometimes felt towards her. So he certainly wasn't going to try to explain it to Sloan or Alex Karev. They wouldn't understand that sleeping next to her helped his nightmares or that he had to talk to her after a bad shift. They just assumed that he had some sexual motive and he had to admit that last night, after she had fallen asleep, very erotic thoughts had crept into his head.

He had always thought that her most striking feature was her beautiful smile but yesterday he had spent so much time observing her that he had noticed many more of her attractive features. She had soft, gorgeous skin. Nice lips. Long legs. _Really_ nice breasts.

"_Because I told her that she's the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen."_

It took him seven years to realize what Anderson Matthews had seen immediately and that bothered him more than he thought it would.

**A/N: Review please! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for the continuing support. Enjoy the update :)**

**Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters. Grey's does not belong to me!**

**Chapter 3 – The Man Who Can't Be Moved**

Two days after he had been discharged, Anderson Matthews came to Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital on his own terms. He was doing fine, more than fine actually. His burns and lacerations had healed well and he was adjusting to life with an ICD. The device was barely noticeable under his skin and he had a very small scar. He could still partake in his active lifestyle; he just had to pace himself a bit more.

He was fine medically, he simply had unfinished business at this hospital.

He was walking towards the nurses' station when he was intercepted by Dr. Altman. Her eyes were wide in concern and she began rapidly firing questions at him.

"Mr. Matthews, are you feeling okay? Is it your heart? Is there something wrong with the ICD?"

He smiled, "I feel great, Dr. Altman."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Oh…then why are you here?"

"I'm here to talk to Dr. Kepner, actually."

"Oh…oh! Well, she should be in her office. One of the nurses can show you the way."

"Thanks Dr. Altman," he responded politely before he walked away.

Teddy watched his retreating form with a smile. She had heard a few of the nurses gossiping about Mr. Matthews' little crush on their chief resident. She thought that it was cute, but the idea of a patient falling for a doctor brought back bittersweet memories for her.

* * *

Anderson stood in the doorway of Dr. Kepner's office and watched the interaction between her and the four other doctors in the room. He recognized Dr. Avery and Dr. Yang but he had never seen the other male and female before. He knocked on the open door and all five heads turned towards him.

Dr. Avery stared at him in confusion and Dr. Yang quickly asked him the same questions that he had just heard from Dr. Altman. He smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm fine, thank you. Dr. Kepner, I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment."

"Sure." She pointedly looked at her peers and they quickly scrambled from the room mumbling reasons why they had to be in other places.

April moved to sit behind her desk and looked at her former patient with a smile. He looked healthy and handsome. Black jeans and a blue, button-down shirt covered his tall, broad frame. He had blonde hair and green eyes and was a devastatingly attractive man, which was probably the reason why she had been so embarrassed by his compliment.

"So, you're feeling okay?"

He sat down in the chair across from her and laughed, "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess when you walk into a hospital people expect there to be something wrong."

"Generally yes," she chuckled.

He caught sight of her dimples and decided to reveal the real reason why he was here. "I actually came here to ask if you wanted to go out with me sometime."

She was genuinely surprised by his request. "Really?"

"Yeah," he grinned playfully. "I would love to take the most beautiful woman I've ever seen out on a date."

She blushed and ran a hand through her hair. A man was asking her out on a date. This was not a common occurrence in her life. Her last date had been with Dr. Stark and that relationship hadn't turned out well for either of them. But she had been nowhere near as attracted to Dr. Stark as she was to the man sitting in front of her.

"Alright, I'd like that," she replied timidly.

"Excellent!" He beamed. "How's tomorrow?"

"My shift is over at eight."

"I'll pick you up here." He leaned forward and spied the name embroidered on her coat. "April." He tested her first name and smiled. "I asked you out and I didn't even know your first name." He stretched his hand out across her desk. "I'm Anderson; you can call me Andy if you want."

She placed her hand in his much larger one. "I like Anderson."

Anderson stood up but continued to hold her hand. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a great day, April."

"Bye Anderson."

He left her office and was barely out of earshot when her fellow fifth years rushed back into her office looking for gossip.

"What was that all about?" Alex asked nosily.

"He was hot," Meredith chimed.

Jackson asked the next question. "He wasn't here about his health?"

She shook her head. "No, he asked me out."

"Way to go Kepner," Cristina chuckled.

She blushed and looked away from her friends' varied reactions. "Come on, we have patients."

* * *

April and Jackson were taking their routine walk around the outside of the hospital but Jackson was being unusually quiet. He was sipping his cup of coffee and not saying a word.

"If you're working through hypothetical surgical situations without me I'm going to be mad," she warned.

He gave her a wry smile. "I'm not thinking about the Boards. I'm taking a break from thinking about the Boards."

"Is Sloan running you ragged?" She asked in the hope of getting to the bottom of what was bothering him.

"No, Sloan is great," he answered honestly. Sloan was an excellent teacher. He was very involved in Jackson's learning, and sometimes a little too involved in his life as demonstrated by his conversation with April a few weeks ago.

"But something is bothering you."

He smiled; she could read him better than anyone else. "My mother has been calling more than usual, that's all," he answered. He wasn't lying, at least not completely, his mother was bothering him. "She's been asking me all kinds of questions about my specialty, the Boards, my personal life," he grumbled.

"Jackson, she means well," April sighed.

"I know but that doesn't make her meddling any less annoying. You're lucky that your parents aren't _obsessed_ with your career." He playfully bumped her shoulder with his own.

"I know," she agreed. Her parents were interested in her career and they wanted her to do well but they weren't doctors so they didn't ask the probing questions that Jackson's family did. She had always been the smart and ambitious one. She was the one that had been pushed and encouraged as a teenager and her parents had fully supported her decision to go to medical school. And that was just one way that her upbringing drastically differed from her best friend's.

"Do your parents at least bug you about your love life the way mine do?"

"I have three sisters who are all married with kids so yeah," she laughed, "my Mom asks me every time she calls if I've found a nice boy to settle down with yet."

"Speaking of," Jackson began tentatively. "You're going to go on a date with that guy?" He attempted to sound casual but he didn't know if he was successful.

"Yeah," she answered simply. Anderson seemed nice and sweet. He was attractive and she didn't receive a lot of attention from men like him. Besides, he saved a woman trapped in a car, how bad could he be?

"But you don't know him," Jackson pointed out.

April laughed at Jackson's brotherly protectiveness. "Isn't that the purpose of a date?" She joked.

Jackson opened up his mouth to argue but her pager went off before he got a chance.

"Incoming trauma! I gotta go." She pushed her empty coffee cup into his empty hand before she began to run back towards the main entrance of the hospital. She stopped in mid-step and turned to face him with a bright smile. "You can't be the only man in my life forever, Jackson."

He smiled back at her and watched her run off. "Maybe," he said quietly to himself.

**A/N: Leave me your thoughts!**

**P.S. How hot was the Jackson/April bathroom scene?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy the update! :)**

**Disclaimer: Same as always!**

**Chapter 4 – Realize**

Jackson and Alex watched Cristina and Meredith rush to the living room window when they heard a vehicle pull into the driveway. The four fifth years were at Meredith's house studying for the Boards but now the two women were distracted by April returning from her date.

"Oh! He's walking her to the door!" Meredith said excitedly.

Alex looked at his watch as he joined his friends at the window. "He's spent three hours alone with Kepner, the man must have the patience of a saint," he remarked.

Lexie walked into the living room from the kitchen and looked at everyone curiously. Meredith, Cristina, and Alex were jockeying for space in front of the window and Jackson was standing in the middle of the living room trying to ignore them. "What are you guys doing?"

Jackson rolled his eyes. "They're spying on April."

Lexie's eyes widened in excitement and she smiled. "She's back?" Jackson nodded and then she raced towards the window as well.

"Come on," Jackson sighed. "You guys shouldn't be doing this."

Cristina scoffed, "Stop acting so righteous, pretty boy. That's our virgin out there with gorgeous trauma guy…McTrauma," she snickered. "Of course we're going to spy on them! Ten bucks says she leaves him without a goodnight kiss."

"Nah, she'll kiss him," Lexie disputed quickly.

"Yeah, twenty says she will," Alex agreed. "She's a good kisser." He turned his head to see that the three women in the room were staring at him and Jackson was openly glaring. "Whatever, it happened," he shrugged.

There was a pause before Lexie giggled. "Aww, they're kissing."

Meredith laughed, "Our little girl is all grown up."

Jackson rolled his eyes once again and headed towards the kitchen. "I need a beer," he grumbled to himself.

"Shit!" Cristina exclaimed. "She's coming inside!"

The three fifth years scrambled back into sitting positions on the couch and grabbed textbooks and notepads to make it look like they were engrossed in their studies while Lexie jumped to a nearby armchair.

April walked through the front door with a smile and then eyed her friends suspiciously.

"Hey April," Cristina greeted her casually.

The red-head would have bought their act if Lexie wasn't grinning uncontrollably and Alex wasn't reading an upside down textbook. She was aware that they had watched her say goodnight to Anderson but it didn't bother her. She was in an unbreakably happy mood.

"So, how's the studying going?"

They all answered her at the same time.

"Good."

"Not too bad."

"Same as always."

Jackson asked what they were all thinking when he walked into the room. "How was your date?"

"Great!" She smiled brightly.

She had asked Anderson to drop her off at Meredith's because she had hoped to get a little bit of studying in but she should have known better. Now that she had broached the subject, it was fair game and the girls began to fire questions at her while Alex and Jackson tried to ignore them.

Her date had been absolutely wonderful. Anderson was polite and easy to talk to. She had been slightly uneasy about going out to dinner with him when he had picked her up from the hospital but he made her feel comfortable in his presence very quickly. He was from North Carolina and had moved to Seattle ten years ago. He was a novelist, a career that she found absolutely fascinating and she was planning on reading his work as soon as she could get to a bookstore. They had spent the majority of their time together talking about literature and medicine, since he seemed just as fascinated by her job. They had been out for three hours and time had flown by.

And the kiss had been…amazing. She had never been kissed like that and she couldn't wait to see him again.

* * *

Jackson scowled into his mug of beer. He had come to Joe's after a great shift. He had scrubbed in on an incredible facial reconstruction yet he was still in a terrible mood, and it had everything to do with April's new, perfect _boyfriend_. He was sitting at the corner of the bar just so he could keep an eye on them as they played darts.

Anderson Matthews was a nice guy, polite and very normal. He treated April with the utmost respect as far as he could tell. He chatted about basketball with Jackson and Alex. He brought beer whenever he came over to their apartment. The man had even been a great patient…but he was driving Jackson crazy. He had now taken April out on three dinner dates, had eaten countless lunches at the hospital, and had become a regular at Joe's. Everyone liked him but with every passing day Jackson was willing to risk his million dollar hands to cause him bodily harm, and having the desire to beat up a man with an ICD was not a great feeling.

"Another beer and something a little stronger," he called out to Joe.

Joe brought him a beer and a shot of tequila. "Rough shift?"

Jackson shook his head and chuckled, "Rough two weeks."

"Let me guess, it has something to do with the tall, blonde kissing April."

Jackson looked up and sure enough, they were kissing. Her arms were around his shoulders and his hands were on her hips and they were kissing. He tried to hide his annoyance as he answered Joe. "He's just been around a lot lately, especially while we've been trying to study for the Boards and I'm worried that he's distracting April."

"He's just jealous," a familiar voice to his right said.

"Karev," he sighed. "I already live with you; you're the last person that I want to talk to right now."

The other man ignored him completely. "Just tell Kepner you have the hots for her, and I'll have a beer, Joe."

"How many times do I have to tell you that there's nothing going on between me and April?" Jackson asked in frustration as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Yeah exactly, that's why you're so agitated, because you just realized that you want something and now she's with someone else, which blows my mind by the way. She's so annoying."

"She's not annoying," Jackson argued.

Karev grinned, "See, that was a test, only someone with the hots for Kepner would say that she's not annoying."

Jackson sipped his beer and his eyes unintentionally strayed to his best friend. She was laughing and he could tell that she had already finished a drink or two. She looked carefree and lovely. "So maybe she can be a little annoying and overly sensitive," he began quietly. "But she's smart, determined, and beautiful. She's kind and generous, she'll do anything for someone that she cares for and that's pretty admirable."

"No freakin' way…"

Karev was looking at him in a mixture of awe and disgust. "What?" He asked in confusion.

"I thought that you were just being jealous or territorial, or pissed that your potential fuck buddy has a boyfriend but you have feelings for her. You're in love with Kepner," he stated with a devilish grin.

Jackson's mouth dropped open. Nothing came to mind to dispute Karev's claim and as he snuck another glance at April, he was afraid that his on-again-off-again friend was right. He finished his beer and then groaned in despair.

Karev laughed a little as he got Joe's attention. "We're going to need more beer and tequila."

* * *

Jackson knew that he was very, very drunk but he wasn't able to stop himself from wandering to April's bedroom. She had returned from Joe's earlier than him and Alex, and, luckily, without the boyfriend. He opened her door and paused in the doorway. "Can I come in?" He asked in a rather loud whisper.

"Yes, come in, I miss my best friend."

He smiled to himself as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. She sounded completely awake and a little drunk as well. He stripped down to his boxers because he hadn't even bothered to go to his room and change, and then he climbed into her bed.

She pulled him close immediately and curled into his side with her head resting on his chest. "Why are you always so warm?"

He laughed, "It must be a guy thing. You smell really good."

"That's a girl thing," she giggled.

He disagreed a little bit. Lexie had always smelled good but nothing like this. He was highly aware of the scent of vanilla coming from her hair and the way that her body was pressed against his. She was wearing a tank top and shorts to bed which was unusual for her and hard for him. He ran a hand down her back and she sighed in pleasure…that did nothing to help his situation.

"April, can I talk to you about something?" He asked nervously.

"Jackson, I think that I already know what you want to talk about."

"You do?" Maybe she had caught him watching her tonight. Maybe his feelings for her were obvious and it wasn't just Karev who had picked up on it. Or maybe she felt the same way about him.

"Mm hm." She looked up at him with a small smile. "You're worried about me. You're always worried about me," she said thankfully. "You're worried about how I'll perform on the Boards. You're worried about me and Anderson. Mostly you're worried that we're not going to be able to spend as much time together now that I have boyfriend."

"April…" He tried to stop her but she had a tendency to ramble when she was under the influence.

"I know that you've been lonely since you broke up with Lexie and that we've been spending more time together than usual, and I'm not going to blow you off now just because I have a boyfriend." She sighed again and rested a hand on his abdomen. "But I really like him," she confessed in a whisper.

"Yeah?" He tried to sound cheerful but his voice broke on the word. Luckily she didn't notice.

"Yeah, I do."

And for the rest of the night, until she fell asleep, Jackson listened to her gush about her new boyfriend because that was what a best friend was supposed to do. Once she was peacefully sleeping beside him, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had told Lexie that he was not the kind of guy who waits around for the girl that's still in love with someone else but apparently he was the kind of guy who fell for the girl who couldn't be his.

**A/N: Every day I fall more in love with the idea of Jackson and April together. Lol. Review please! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Once again, thanks for reviewing! Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: Same as always!**

**Chapter 5 – Perfect**

Anderson smiled and rested his hand on April's knee as she ate her lunch with her colleagues. He had grown accustomed to eating lunch everyday with April, Jackson, Alex, Cristina, and Meredith, and in fact, he kind of enjoyed it. The food wasn't terrible and their conversations, from hospital gossip to ground-breaking surgeries, were always interesting.

Cristina grinned excitedly as her pager went off. "Teddy is paging me! Gotta go!"

"Why is she so happy?" Anderson whispered to April.

"We all get excited for surgery," she smiled.

"You guys are weird," he teased light-heartedly.

He was lost in a lot of surgical talk when Dr. Hunt and Dr. Sloan approached their table.

"Are you all coming to the basketball game this weekend against Seattle Pres?" Hunt asked as he looked at each resident individually.

"Yes Chief," they all answered in unison.

The women looked less than enthused but Jackson and Alex were clearly looking forward to it.

"And how's our star player feeling?" Sloan asked as he placed his hands on Jackson's shoulders.

"I feel good, sir," Jackson chuckled.

"Thank God we're better at basketball than we are at softball," Hunt stated gratefully and everyone at the table nodded in agreement. His eyes lit up when he locked gazes with Anderson. "Mr. Matthews, I seem to recall you saying that you played college basketball."

Anderson nodded, "I did play college ball."

"Where?" Hunt asked curiously.

"He went to Duke," April chirped happily.

Sloan whistled, Alex stopped eating he was so impressed, and Jackson was trying his best not to look annoyed and bitter.

Hunt pointed at Anderson and smiled gleefully. "Until after our game against Seattle Pres you are the chief resident's administrative assistant."

"Cool," Anderson smiled.

* * *

"You don't have to play basketball for the hospital," April stated once they retreated to her office for a little privacy.

"I know," Anderson grinned. "I want to. It should be fun."

April reached up and placed her hand on his chest, over his ICD. "You'll be okay?"

"Yeah," he answered firmly. "I know how to pace myself."

April walked towards her desk and picked a paperback novel up off of a large stack of files. "I finished your book. I loved it," she smiled brightly. She had finally gotten the opportunity to buy and read Anderson's first novel and it was well worth her time and effort.

"Thanks." He grinned shyly before he placed a hand under her chin and titled her head up for a kiss. "A beautiful woman telling me she loved my book is an incredible turn on," he murmured.

She laughed and felt her face flush. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders to return the kiss and he began to pull her back towards her sofa. Normally, she would be the last person to fool around in the workplace but they would page her if they needed her, and Anderson was hard to say no to. She fell back onto the couch as they kissed and he gently lay down on top of her.

"Ya know," he laughed, "there's something about these scrubs and coat that I find incredibly sexy." He kissed down her neck as he pushed her white coat off of her shoulders.

"Now that's kind of weird," she giggled.

One of Anderson's large hands slipped into her scrub pants and she froze. They had been going out for almost a month and their physical intimacy was still very innocent because she kept putting off "the talk". She assumed that he was either getting fairly impatient or confused by now so she couldn't stay silent any longer. She clasped his wrist in her hand and pulled away from his hungry kiss.

"Hold on a second," she panted. She kissed him chastely and smiled to break the tension. "Anderson, I've been meaning to tell you something but I keep getting really nervous and…"

He cut off her ranting with a kiss and smiled. "Hey, hey, slow down." He ran a hand through her hair and then ran his thumb along her cheekbone. "Just tell me," he whispered quietly.

"I'm a…I've never…I'm 29 years old and I've never…" She stopped talking and groaned in frustration. "I'm a virgin!" She finally blurted out. She watched him process the information before the shock registered on his face. "Whatever you say right now, just be honest."

"Well," he chuckled awkwardly as he brushed her hair out of her face. "I can't say that I'm not surprised because you're so…I find you to be overwhelmingly beautiful…but I don't have a problem with you being a virgin. We can go as slow as you want."

"Really?" She squeaked.

"Yeah, really," he repeated. "I really like you April."

She smiled and pulled him down for another kiss. "I really like you too," she spoke against his lips.

* * *

"I just hate that guy," Jackson grumbled petulantly as he watched Anderson snake his arm around April's waist as they laughed with Hunt.

The Seattle Grace Mercy West surgical team was celebrating their basketball win over Seattle Presbyterian at his place and Anderson Matthews was the center of attention. Jackson loved basketball, he had played basketball his whole life, and he was really good…but Anderson was better. He had played for Duke for God's sake, as if Jackson didn't hate the guy enough already. Anderson's all-star performance was also earning him quite a bit of attention from April.

Karev walked up to him and handed him a beer. "Looks like you could use one of these."

"Thanks man," he replied gratefully.

"No problem. There has to be something wrong with him, he seems too perfect," Karev commented as he sipped his own beer.

Jackson glared at him. "You're not helping."

Karev laughed and Jackson sighed. He never thought in a million years that Alex Karev would become his confidant. But then again, he never thought that he would fall for April Kepner. He could barely recall his first impression of her. He remembered a girl who was shy and timid around her fellow interns, yet a perky, know-it-all in front of the residents and attendings. He had tonnes of memories with her in the background from his early days at Mercy West but since moving to Seattle Grace, she had become the most important person in his life. He couldn't stop thinking about her now.

Karev interrupted his musings with a blunt question. "Are you going to tell her how you feel anytime soon?"

"I already tried," he answered in frustration.

"Well try again," Karev prompted passionately. "I'm sick and tired of watching you mope."

* * *

April smiled at the man in her bed as she closed her bedroom door. After a great but long day, she had invited Anderson to spend the night with her. He was so wonderful with the people that she worked with, social, engaging, and understanding. And watching him play basketball had gotten her a little hot and bothered.

She crawled into her bed and straddled his lap. "Did you have a good time today?"

He slipped both of his hands underneath her t-shirt and stroked her sides. "Yeah, I really did," he smiled. "I goof around with my friends all the time but I haven't played a really competitive game of basketball in a really long time." He laughed, "You guys really hate Seattle Presbyterian."

"Just hospital rivalry," she explained.

She leaned forward and kissed him passionately. "Thank you for spending all day with the people I work with," she murmured.

He grinned, "I'll do it every day if that's how you thank me."

She laughed and grabbed his face to kiss him again. "It really meant a lot to me."

"I had fun but you can thank me one more time if you want," he teased.

She smiled and shook her head at his playfulness as she climbed off of him and lay on her side. She pulled him close and kissed him goodnight. She was happy and content. The man lying next to her was practically perfect but something felt different…off. His frame was longer and not as warm as the man that she was used to sleeping beside, Jackson's embrace felt more protective.

It took her much longer to get to sleep than it normally did.

* * *

Jackson sat at his kitchen table, in the dark, and repetitively drummed his fingers against the tabletop as he nursed a glass of water. He was unable to sleep. Normally that problem would constitute a visit to his best friend's room but she had company. Jackson clenched his teeth at the thought of Anderson _sleeping over_. He really didn't like the idea of another man sleeping in her bed.

As if on cue, Anderson walked into the kitchen in his boxers, and he seemed startled to see him sitting at the table.

"Oh, hey, I just came down for a glass of water."

Jackson nodded and neglected to verbally respond. He assumed that Anderson could find the glasses on his own. This was the first time that he had been alone with the older man since he was a patient and Jackson was not exactly in the right mood to be in this particular situation.

"You played great today," Anderson started conversationally. "We should play one on one sometime."

Jackson knew that the man standing in his kitchen was a nice guy but he couldn't stop the disdain that dripped from his words when he spoke. "So, you're spending the night now?"

Anderson was taken aback and he instantly got defensive. "Yes, not that it's any of your business."

"It is my business," he stated firmly.

"Excuse me?"

Jackson stood up from the table and crossed the kitchen so that he and Anderson were face to face, almost chest to chest. "She's my best friend so it is my business to make sure that you're not using her."

"I'm not using her," Anderson replied definitely.

"Do you know anything about her?" He questioned quickly. "Do you know why she became a doctor?" Anderson shook his head and something inside of Jackson snapped, and he couldn't stop himself from talking. "Her mom is a teacher. Her dad's a farmer. She has three sisters, four nieces, and two nephews. She wanted to be a cheerleader in high school but she didn't think she was pretty enough. She did her undergrad at Ohio State because she didn't want to be far from her family. Her best friend died in a shooting almost two years ago. She's terrified of fires because it reminds her of the first patient whose death she was responsible for. She has a beautiful voice but doesn't let people hear her sing. When we were interns she often sang to the babies in the nursery and was embarrassed when we caught her. And," he sighed with a smile, "when she has a bad day, she talks in her sleep. She's almost unbearably kind; she'll let you have the last cup of coffee in the pot. She's crazy competitive in everything that she does and she's a perfectionist but she's sensitive and a tad self-conscious." He paused and took in the look of astonishment on Anderson's face. "She's special. She's my best friend, I know her better than anyone else, and it is my business to make sure that you're not using her. You seem to make her happy so if you're going to be spending the night then get to know her."

Jackson turned around and started to head out of the kitchen when Anderson's voice stopped him.

"Is that all she is to you?"

"What?" He asked in confusion. He didn't even turn back around to face the other man.

"Is that all she is to you? Your best friend?" Anderson clarified his question and there was a note of sadness in his voice.

"No," Jackson answered simply before he walked away.

**A/N: How cute is Jackson? Lol. I just couldn't resist making April a singer. Sarah Drew has an amazing voice for those of you who haven't heard. Thanks for the strong response to this story. Continue reviewing! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing! Sorry for the wait, I had an unfortunate computer difficulty. Enjoy the update :)**

**Disclaimer: Same as always.**

**Chapter 6 – I Want You to Want Me**

Lexie spotted April standing at the nurses' station and sidled up to her with a smile. She handed the nurse behind the desk a chart as she greeted the red-head. "Hey April."

"Hey Lexie, how are you?" The chief resident asked pleasantly.

"Good, just doing some research for Shepherd. How is Anderson?" Lexie inquired mischievously.

"Great!" She answered enthusiastically.

Since the basketball game against Seattle Presbyterian, the surgeons were buzzing with praise for April Kepner's boyfriend.

"You guys are really great together."

"Thanks Lexie." April looked behind her to make sure no one was around before she leaned towards Lexie and lowered her voice. She had a date with Anderson tonight and she wanted the brunette's opinion on something. "Most guys like lingerie, right?"

Lexie laughed boisterously. "Yeah, they do."

"Just be careful he doesn't go into cardiac arrest," Cristina quipped as she joined them at the nurses' station.

"That's not funny Cristina," April replied seriously.

Cristina grinned in response. "It's kind of funny."

Lexie chuckled in agreement but their little moment was interrupted by Mark Sloan.

"Dr. Kepner, can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure."

Sloan pulled her to the side and she was more than a little curious about why he wanted to talk to her. Their last private conversation wasn't exactly something that she wanted to relive.

"What's bothering Avery?" The attending asked in distress.

April shook her head in confusion because she didn't know that anything was bothering Jackson. "I don't know."

"He's uptight, stressed, surly…very unlike himself," Sloan explained. "I'm worried about him. Interviews and Boards are coming up and he's off his game. You need to do something Kepner!"

"Um…uh…what do you want me to do, sir?"

"I don't know Kepner," Sloan sighed. "You're his best friend, hang out with him, do whatever it is you guys do. He's always in a better mood after spending time with you."

"Okay," she nodded. At least this request from Dr. Sloan was a lot more reasonable than the last time he had asked her to do something for Jackson.

"I'm counting on you Kepner," Sloan said with the utmost seriousness before he walked away.

* * *

April walked into their kitchen and found Jackson studying at the table. Alex was working in the ER tonight so it would be just the two of them in the house and the perfect opportunity to cheer her friend up. She had cancelled her date with Anderson to spend time with her friend and her boyfriend had not been happy about it. In fact, April found his reaction to be a little irrational. It seemed like something was bothering him as well but he had ended the conversation before she had a chance to inquire.

She snuck up behind Jackson and reached around him to close the textbook in front of him.

He knew that April was behind him by her scent and the shiver that went through his body due to her proximity. "What are you doing?" He asked with a hint of annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to be out on a date?"

"Plans change!" She told him in her perkiest tone of voice. "And you aren't studying tonight."

"Oh really?" He asked skeptically. He was trying not to concentrate on the fact that her thumbs were rubbing circles on the back of his neck. "So, what are we doing?"

"We can watch a movie and drink beer. Just whatever you want," she said with a smile as she sat down in the seat next to him. "You haven't been yourself lately." Maybe he was off his game, as Sloan had put it, due to stress.

"Whatever I want," he repeated with a grin.

She nodded. "Whatever you want."

He laughed quietly to himself. He knew what he really wanted to do right now but he doubted that she would appreciate such a crude suggestion. However, he did have a few other ideas that didn't involve the two of them naked.

"I know," he smirked impishly. "Sing for me."

She flushed instantly and shook her head. "Anything but that."

"Come on April," he laughed.

"No, not even for you," she stated adamantly.

He smiled at her statement despite himself before another idea popped into his head. "Make me breakfast?" He asked boyishly.

"That I can do," she smiled excitedly.

He smiled and packed up his books as April scurried around the kitchen. It was no secret that breakfast was his favourite meal of the day and he would gladly eat it at any time of the day, and April made an incredible breakfast. Her French toast was the best he ever had. He vividly remembered the night before their intern exam, he and Charles had eaten a midnight breakfast at her and Reed's apartment.

He watched her closely as she pulled everything that she needed out of the refrigerator. She was wearing blue jeans and a green tank top, and she was barefoot. Her wavy hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. He, or anyone else, rarely saw her looking so casual, and it was unbelievably sexy.

"Do you want me to help?"

"Nope," she responded cheerfully. "Just relax!"

He could do that. He was always the most relaxed around her and it didn't hurt that he was overwhelmingly pleased by the fact that she was supposed to be out on a date right now, but instead was cooking breakfast for him.

* * *

An hour later, he was sitting on the sofa watching the Celtics game on television with April asleep and curled into his side. Since he was in charge of the evening, he had decided on eating their breakfast while watching the basketball game and as a result, April fell asleep almost as soon as she finished eating. She wasn't exactly the biggest sports fan.

Her head was resting on his chest and his arm was wrapped around her with his hand on her flat stomach. After his confession to Anderson, he had decided that he was going to try to be happy for his best friend. She seemed really happy. However, his plan backfired significantly and over the past couple of days he had been in a terrible mood. Now, he was beginning to feel guilty about how much he was enjoying her closeness. He loved the smell of her hair and the expanse of creamy, pale skin that was available to his eyes.

"April," he spoke gently. "Wake up."

She mumbled something unintelligible and shifted even closer to him. He watched her hand scoot across his lower abdomen and he groaned quietly to himself. She was driving him crazy and she wasn't even aware.

"April," he repeated as he brushed a few tendrils of hair out of her eyes.

"Yes Jackson?" She answered but her eyes were still closed.

"Do you want to go to bed?" He leaned his head back on the couch and grimaced. He would kill to ask her that question in a different context.

"No, I'm fine here," she murmured.

He let out a long breath before he moved so that April had to sit up straight. "April, I need to talk to you. I can't do this anymore."

"Can't do what anymore?" She asked in confusion as she rapidly blinked to wake herself up.

"I need to talk to you about Anderson."

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "You don't like him do you?" She had been getting that feeling recently but she didn't want to ask him about it because she couldn't stand the thought of her best friend and boyfriend not getting along.

"I don't," he said affirmatively. "I don't like how often he's around, both here and at the hospital. I don't like watching him touch you. I don't like watching him kiss you. And I don't like him spending the night!"

She was both surprised by his words and a little confused, and the fact that she was only mildly alert wasn't helping. "Jackson, I know it must be weird for you that I have a boyfriend now but…"

"No," he interrupted her. "I don't think you understand what I'm saying. I'm not lonely. I'm not being protective. I'm jealous, and I'm not jealous because you have someone and I don't. I'm jealous because he has you. I want you," he told her earnestly.

Her eyes widened and she slowly got to her feet and began to pace the living room floor.

Jackson felt as if she was pacing in front of him for hours and when she finally turned to face him, she looked furious. He had been expecting a wide array of reactions to his revelation but he had never expected her to be mad.

"This is so unfair Jackson!" She practically screamed at him.

He jumped to his feet and retaliated quickly. "What? How is this unfair? I'm telling you how I feel about you!"

"At the worst time! When I'm finally happy with someone else! You only want me because you can't have me!"

"That's not true," he argued. "I want you because I think that I'm in love with you. You don't feel the same way?" He asked fearfully and he was able to hear his own voice shake.

She sighed and looked at him sadly. "I stopped myself from thinking about you in that way. It was too hard. You're Jackson Avery." He furrowed his brow in confusion so she continued. "You're Harper Avery's grandson, you went to Harvard, and you got everything you ever wanted growing up. You're a great guy. Not to mention the fact that you're the most beautiful man I've ever seen. What chance did_ I_ ever have with a guy like you?" Jackson opened his mouth to answer but she couldn't let him talk. She was already on the verge of tears so she carried on. "So I became your best friend. It was easier to be your best friend," she finished quietly.

Jackson was still going over her words when she began to walk away. "April wait! Please talk to me," he pleaded.

She turned around slowly and he saw that she was crying. "I just want to go to bed Jackson."

He nodded in defeat and let her walk into her bedroom. He felt emotionally downtrodden and exhausted but it didn't fully hit him how torn his relationship with April was until he went to her room in the middle of the night and found her door locked.

**A/N: So, if I learned anything from this week's Grey's it's that Jackson thinks there's a spark! Yay! Leave me your thoughts on this chapter :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Once again, thanks for reviewing! Enjoy the update :)**

**Disclaimer: Same as usual!**

**Chapter 7 – The Letter**

April awoke the next morning earlier than usual. She had showered, eaten, and dressed long before Jackson had even gotten out of bed and that was how she had planned it. She left for the hospital as quietly as possible and for the first time ever, she avoided her best friend. She stayed in the ER all day with Dr. Hunt while Jackson was on Dr. Sloan's service. She didn't even stop by her office.

When lunch time rolled around, she grabbed a cup of coffee and a sandwich and took her lunch outside. She just wasn't ready to face him. She had no idea how to classify her feelings for him and he had turned their world upside down last night.

"What's going on with April?" Meredith asked astutely as she watched the red-head leave the cafeteria. "This is the first time I've seen her all day."

"Something's going on with Avery too," Cristina added.

The two women immediately turned towards Alex. "What?" He asked.

"You live with them. Spill," Cristina demanded.

Alex groaned and rolled his eyes. "Avery's in love with Kepner and based on the fact that I came home this morning and he was asleep on the floor outside her room, I'm guessing he told her and it didn't go well."

Cristina and Meredith both looked equally shocked and Alex merely shrugged in indifference. He had seen it coming the whole time. They were so close; feelings were bound to develop.

* * *

After checking in with their burn patient, Sloan pulled Avery aside so that they could talk in private. He thought that a night with Kepner would cheer him up but his pupil was still not acting like himself and he was determined to discover the reason why.

"What's going on Avery? You can tell me what's bothering you. Is it Lexie?"

The younger doctor laughed at the irony. "No, it's not Lexie."

"The Boards? Your mother? What?" Sloan questioned. "You're unfocused. You're off your game so you need to tell me what's going on with you."

Avery angrily stuffed his hands in the pockets of his coat before he released a large breath and met Sloan's gaze. "It's April."

"Oh no." Despite what most people thought, Mark Sloan was very observant when it came to interpersonal relationships. "You fell for her." It was a statement not a question.

Avery nodded and confessed what was eating away at him. "And now she won't even talk to me."

After finding her bedroom door locked last night, he figured that he couldn't do anymore damage to his pride so he decided to camp outside her door. Karev found him sleeping when he came home and convinced him to return to his own bed. However, when he woke for the day and headed to the shower, April had already left for the hospital.

"Do you want some advice Avery?"

"Sure," he laughed. "I couldn't possibly screw this up any worse."

"Give her a little space," Sloan told him sincerely. "Make sure that she knows exactly how you feel about her and then give her some space." Avery looked truly dejected and his mentor felt for him. He clapped Avery on the shoulder and smiled. "If you need anything let me know."

"Thanks Dr. Sloan."

* * *

April sat on the bench in the residents' locker room and stared straight ahead. She wasn't looking at anything in particular but she couldn't tear her eyes away. She was having an absolutely terrible day. It was the worst day that she had had in a long time, and it was one of those days where she reflected on her decision to become a surgeon. She had lost two patients in the ER today and the only person that she wanted to see was the one person that she was avoiding.

The door to the locker room opened and April turned her head to see who had entered. She was both relieved and disappointed to see that it was not Jackson but Cristina. The focused doctor wasn't exactly her closest friend but she always told the truth and maybe that was what April needed right now.

"Tough day?" Cristina asked as she sat down next to the red-head.

"Tough day," April simply repeated.

There was a long pause in which Cristina untied her sneakers while April remained perfectly still. Her phone was buzzing in her pocket but she was afraid to answer it.

"He's your person," Cristina stated quietly.

April turned to her with a puzzled expression. "What?"

"Avery. He's your person. The first person you want to tell big news to. The first person you want to see after you've had a bad surgery. The person that you know will always defend you, help cover up your stupid mistakes, and you can trust to give you a dose of reality. Avery's your person."

"Yes. Yes he is," she admitted quietly.

"Trust me," Cristina said sincerely, "everything may seem unclear now, but you want to be with your person."

April didn't respond and Cristina didn't offer any more words. She changed out of her scrubs and left April alone in the locker room once again.

The chief resident took a deep breath before she finally decided to change her clothes and head home. She pulled on her jacket and was surprised to find a piece of paper in her coat pocket. She pulled it out and recognized Jackson's handwriting instantly.

_What chance did I ever have with a girl like you?_

_That's the real question that you should have asked me last night._

_You're the most beautiful person I've ever known, inside and out._

_I'll be whatever you want me to be. I love you, you just have to let me, or I can be your best friend, if that is easier._

_I'm crashing at Sloan's for a few nights to give you some space. Let me know if you need anything._

_Jackson_

April carefully folded the note and placed it back in her pocket. She was practically sobbing now and she angrily wiped the tears away. Her phone began to ring and she tried to compose herself before answering.

"Hello," she said shakily.

"Hey babe."

"Hi Anderson!" She smiled to herself and hoped that smiling would make her sound more like herself.

"Listen, I feel really bad about getting all weird yesterday when you cancelled our date so I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight and watch a movie."

"Yeah, I'd love to and I just finished my shift so I'll be there soon."

They exchanged goodbyes and she hung up her phone. She headed to the bathroom to splash her face with water before she left the hospital.

* * *

Anderson opened his apartment door excitedly but his smile quickly fell when he could see that his girlfriend was visibly upset. He pulled her inside and closed his door.

"April, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she shook her head. "Just bad day…bad surgeries," she muttered. She dropped her coat and purse in a chair and turned back to him. "Can we skip that movie?"

"Yeah sure. What do you want to do then?" He was pleasantly surprised when she grabbed his sweater and pulled him down for a passionate kiss. "Yeah, that's definitely a better idea," he chuckled. She pushed him towards his couch and he followed her lead.

He thought that things were getting fairly hot and heavy so he made the obvious suggestion as he kissed down her neck. "April, do you want to take this into the bedroom?"

She pulled away from him in a flash and covered her face with her hands. "I want to but I-I can't…I'm so sorry…"

She was crying and he was incredibly confused. He gently pried her hands away from her face. "Hey," he whispered softly as he cradled her face in his large hands. "We don't have to do anything you don't want, remember?"

She shook her head. She had hoped that being around Anderson would take her mind off Jackson but he hadn't left her thoughts at all. She recalled every piece of romantic advice she had ever received…from her mother, her sisters, Cristina, even Bailey. Anderson wasn't her person. He wasn't her 'Ben'. She didn't want to superglue herself to this boy.

"I want you to be but you're not…" She mumbled more to herself than him.

Now he was even more confused. "Can you just slow down for a second? You're not making any sense to me." She took a deep breath as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think I can see you anymore Anderson," she told him sadly.

"Oh…"

"And I'm so sorry," she added quickly. "You're such a great guy and I really like you, and I know that I could fall for you but…"

She looked at him with a pained expression and everything clicked into place for him. "But you're in love with Jackson." He had hoped that Jackson's feelings for her were unrequited but deep down he had always known that they weren't. They had found each other long before he came along.

"How did you know?"

He chuckled humorlessly, "Why do you think I got so mad last night when you cancelled our date to cheer him up?"

"I am so sorry," she repeated.

"It's okay," he said with a weak smile. They sat next to each other on his sofa in silence until he spoke again. "I'm glad that you realized this now instead of later." He knew that she would be hard to get over. She was the woman who had given him a second chance at life. He found her hand and threaded their fingers together. "Thank you for saving my life."

She choked back a sob. "You're welcome." She kissed his hand before she let it go and moved to retrieve her jacket and purse. "I should probably go."

"April?" He called out as she reached the door.

"Yeah?"

He smiled, "He loves you too…a lot. Go, be happy."

**A/N: This story is coming to an end so be sure to leave your thoughts!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for the wait. The season finale totally threw me (Jackson just needs to tell her he loves her!) and then I had my brother's graduation. Enjoy the final update :)**

**Disclaimer: Same as usual.**

**Chapter 8 – All To Myself**

Sloan sat on his couch watching television while Avery studied for the Boards in his spare bedroom. He never thought that he would invite a male resident to stay in his home but he felt for the kid and he did offer his help. He had ordered pizza and there was beer in his refrigerator, he figured that was a good first step to getting Avery's mind off of Kepner.

A knock sounded on his door and he promptly hopped off of his couch to answer it. He pulled the door open and grinned at his visitor.

"Good evening Dr. Kepner."

"Hi Dr. Sloan," she replied timidly. "Is Jackson here?"

"He is indeed," Sloan answered as he casually leaned on the doorframe. He felt like he was channelling his inner-father and teasing Kepner was an enjoyable pastime. He watched her fidget and struggle to find her words before he stepped aside and gestured for her to enter his apartment. "He's in the spare bedroom studying." He pointed her in the right direction and watched as she tentatively walked across his apartment.

She spun around and nervously looked at him. "How is he?"

The older surgeon grinned. "He's hoping you want to be more than just his study buddy."

April smiled and then bravely proceeded to the guest bedroom. She knocked on the door and instantly heard a muffled permission to enter. She walked into the room and found Jackson lying on the bed, shuffling through flash cards.

He slowly sat up and looked at her in surprise. "April," he breathed.

"I needed to see you," she confessed timidly.

"Good," he smiled happily. "That's good."

She tentatively sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the dark comforter as she spoke. "I had an awful day today. I lost two patients today, one coded, the other bled out. I had an awful day today and the only person that I wanted to talk to was you."

He reached out and placed a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there."

"It's okay," she smiled softly as she looked at him. "I was still kind of mad at you then. Mostly confused, but mad. And then I find this." She pulled his note out of her coat pocket and laid it on the bed between them. "_And then_," she emphasized as she continued. "I go to my boyfriend's apartment and the only person that I can think about is you, and not because you're my best friend. I felt so guilty because Anderson is such a great guy but I couldn't keep it going after everything."

"So…you broke up with him?" Jackson asked hopefully.

"Of course I broke up with him, you moron," she said exasperated.

She had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when Jackson grabbed her by the waist and melded their mouths together. The kiss was slow, unhurried, and full of pent-up emotion. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she timidly let him inside.

When Jackson ended the kiss he smiled at the fact that April still had her eyes closed.

She had been wrong about the way Anderson had kissed her on their first date. She had never been kissed like _that_. She hummed pleasantly to herself before opening her eyes. "Wow…"

He chuckled and agreed with her. "Yeah…wow…"

April wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Hey kids." Mark Sloan's voice called on the other side of the door and interrupted their kiss. "If you two are making up, can you not do it in my guest room?"

Jackson laughed and held April's face as she blushed. "We'll be out of here in a minute Dr. Sloan. Let's go home," he whispered to April.

She smiled, "Yeah, let's go home."

* * *

Jackson followed April into their apartment with a smile. "Where's Karev?"

"He's scrubbing in with Dr. Robbins on an emergency valve replacement."

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "So, we're alone?" She tilted her head to the side to allow him access to her neck and he kissed along the exposed flesh. "My…bedroom…or…yours?" He asked in between kisses. She didn't answer him but she spun around in his arms and kissed him as she pushed his jacket off of his shoulders.

They chose her room for the sole reason that it was closer. Jackson kicked the door closed behind him and guided April towards the bed. His t-shirt was already discarded and he was beginning to unbutton her blouse when she pulled away from him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked panicked.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, nothing's wrong. I just want to tell you something."

"Okay." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "What is it?"

"I never…um I mean…I…" She ran a hand through her hair in frustration and groaned. "I never had sex with him," she finally stated.

"You didn't?" He was surprised. Anderson had spent so many nights here and he knew that she really liked him so he had just assumed that the man had taken April's virginity. But he was happy that the man hadn't. He loved the idea of being her first. "Well, are you sure that you want to…now?" He asked nervously, because he would wait. They could take it one step at a time if she wanted.

She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah, I am." The fingers of her right hand skipped down his chest until they found his belt. "I want to…with you. Can we just go slowly?"

He smiled, "We can go as slow as you want."

* * *

Afterwards, April giggled as Jackson spooned her from behind and kissed her shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Great. I feel great," she laughed breathlessly. "That was amazing. Thank you."

He turned her head towards him and kissed her soundly on the mouth. "No need to thank me. You were amazing."

She smiled happily and pulled his arm tighter around her waist. She loved lying with him. She liked the warmth of his body and the feeling of protection and safety that it created. "I always liked doing this, ya know, when we were just friends," she confessed. "It feels the same now and I'm glad."

Jackson laughed huskily and covered one of her breasts with his hand. "Well, not exactly the same." He kissed behind her ear and whispered, "This is much more fun."

She giggled at his boldness before squirming out his grasp and getting out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked petulantly.

She crawled back onto the bed and leaned over him to place a soft kiss on his lips. "I have to pee," she explained. She clutched the bed sheet tightly to her chest as she looked around for her clothes.

He picked his t-shirt up off of the floor near the bed and tossed it to her. "Here, wear this!"

She caught his shirt and slipped it over her head. It fell just below her butt and he grinned at how good she looked in his clothes. She dropped the bed sheet and pulled on her discarded panties. She hurried to the bathroom and back to her room where she returned to her bed next to Jackson. He pulled her close and kissed her again.

"I never said it," she spoke against his lips.

"Said what?" He asked in confusion.

"I love you too," she smiled.

He kissed her. "Say it again."

She giggled, "I love you Jackson." And she really did. She had loved him for a while but it had just been easier to repress it with everything that had happened between him and Lexie. Like she had told him, it had been easier to be his friend because it had taken him a tad longer to realize how he felt about her.

He cradled her face and kissed her again. He wanted to kiss her every minute of every day. "I love you April."

* * *

In the middle of the night, April awoke with a desperate need to once again use the washroom. She slipped out of her bed and sleepily stumbled into the hallway. She smacked into something solid and quickly realized that it was Alex's chest.

"Sorry…um…I'm sorry," she mumbled. She raised her head to face his most likely annoyed gaze, and noticed that his eyes were downcast. She looked down and remembered that she was wearing Jackson's t-shirt, and _only_ Jackson's t-shirt. She tried in vain to pull the garment down to cover more of her upper thighs.

Alex smirked at his flustered female roommate. "Kepner, you look freshly f-"

April cringed as Alex stopped talking at the moment when she heard her bedroom door open behind her. "April, what are you…oh, hey Karev…"

"Did you two hook up?" He asked bluntly.

Jackson pulled April back against his chest and smiled brightly. "We're…together."

Alex simply nodded. "About frickin' time," he said before he walked to his bedroom.

Jackson laughed into her hair while she stared at Alex's closed bedroom door in shock. "About frickin' time?" She repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Karev has been a pretty good friend to me recently," Jackson explained. "Don't worry about him, just come back to bed."

She kissed him and smiled softly. "Be there in a second."

She walked to the bathroom and Jackson turned to go back into her bedroom. They both had the day off tomorrow and if he had his way, they would only be leaving her room to use the washroom and get something to eat. He had waited long enough. He wanted her all to himself for a little while. For forever.

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone for supporting this story! The response overwhelmed me completely :) I am sad that this story is at an end but don't worry, I am already writing another April/Jackson story! It will be rated M. Also, if anybody knows where I can**** watch Grey's Season 8 online, it would really help me out :)**

**Thanks everyone! Leave a final review! **


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